EDITORIAL: DeSantis reopens most of Florida. In Miami-Dade, Gimenez should refrain — for now

Apr. 30--In reopening most of the state of Florida in response to some encouraging coronavirus statistics, Gov. Ron DeSantis gets to take a victory lap. And the pressure to follow suit now falls to leaders in South Florida, including, and especially, Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez.

DeSantis, amid the coronavirus pandemic, announced on Wednesday that he ordered most of the state to reopen -- with caveats and restrictions. However, three South Florida counties -- Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach -- are excluded from his order. He's leaving it up to local officials to make the decision to reopen. That's a wise move, given that, in South Florida, at least, elected officials have led where the governor lagged in ordering broad measures to protect their constituents. DeSantis owes them a tip of the hat while he takes his own bows, which he has been doing for the past two weeks, crowing about the relatively low number of cases in Florida and blaming experts and the media for, in his view, blowing coronavirus projections all out of proportion.

Playing politics

Of course, a less politically driven leader might have said that the media and the experts did a superb job in warning people to take this deadly pandemic very seriously, especially as he and President Trump downplayed the danger. Without the medical pros, the media and proactive local leaders -- hampered by the inability to secure test kits for residents and personal protective equipment for first responders -- the death toll very likely would have been worse.

DeSantis' move is also a shrewd one. By carving out South Florida, he gets credit for reopening the state -- after running it by Trump during their sit-down Tuesday at the White House -- while pushing responsibility for opening up the rest of the state onto South Florida leaders.

South Florida, of course, is the epicenter of the infection in the state.

Going slow

On Tuesday, DeSantis laid out his plan, called "Safe. Smart. Step-by-Step," which he says is a "very slow and methodical approach" to reopening. It's smart of him to recognize that, those crowded reopened beaches to the north aside, people are going to be skittish about rebuilding the social lives they had before the pandemic. Starting Monday, schools will remain closed; restaurants can have outdoor seating with six-foot social distancing between patrons; retail stores can open at 25 percent indoor capacity; bars, gyms and salons will remain closed; elective surgeries will be allowed to resume; nursing homes and long-term care-facility visits will still be banned.

DeSantis is taking a more responsible approach to reopening the Florida than some counterparts in other states, especially Georgia, where Gov. Brian Kemp has abandoned all common sense and reason.

In South Florida, the spotlight now falls on Gimenez, who has cautiously reopened parks and golf courses, while being out in front of imposing safety measures. But the pressure is on. Many constituents already are clamoring for condo pools and beaches to reopen. County residents no doubt will see images of reopened restaurants elsewhere and ask, "Why not here?" He's running for Congress, which only adds to the tricky equation.

But the county mayor has hewed to a go-slow approach, well informed by the imperative to put safety first. He should stay that course.

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